Setter for bowling pins



April 14, 1953 G. c. DEBAY 2,634,980

SETTER FOR BOWLING PINS Filed March 17, 1950 3 Sheefcs-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

April 14, 1953 G. c. DEBAY 2,634,980

SETTER FOR BOWLING PINS Filed March 1'7, 1950 '3 Sheets-Sheet 3 O O O in 7- 39 v INVENTOR.

sw e c. 1381, w

latentecl Apr. 14, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SETTER FOR BOWLING PINS George Charles Debay, Woodland Hills, Calif. Application March 17, 1950, Serial No. 150,246

3 Claims. (01. 273-45) This invention relates to an automatic pin setting device for bowling alleys and the like. The invention herein set out may be applied to any bowling alley and also to the one set out in applicants Patent No. 2,209,082, issued July 23, 1940.

.So far as known, there has been only'one or two-attempts to develop a complete automatic bowling pin setter, and those which have been developed were not successful in that they lacked complete mechanical control for properly and fully removing the pin or pins when struck, or else pins were provided which did not have the proper weight and feel of regular tenpins or duckpins and thus the players soon lost interest and pleasure in playing with them.

1 The bowlingpins employed in applicants device have the same weight and size of regular ofiicial bowling pins and do not present any obstacle, whatever toward the usual and regular playing of the modern game. 'When a pin is struck by a ball, in applicants device, the pin is tossed in the usual and natural manner rearwardlyor toward a side of the alley, and then it is quickly. drawn below the alley completely out of the way to await resetting with the other pins that may have been knocked down. When each pin is drawn from the alley surface, a gate or plate is automatically slid into place to cover the opening and thus present a smooth flush playing surface as though the opening never existed through which the pin disappeared. By merely pressing-a button at the players end of the alley- (or any other location) all the pinsare reset in perfect order, that is, .all the pins which have been knocked down.

;One of the principal objects of this invention is to present anew and novel pin setting device which is entirely automatic and requires no att ndant whatever, the means for controlling the resetting of the pins being located at any convenient place such as at the players end of the alleyor in some control room or booth; the controlling may, if desired, be operative by coins so that only a watchman-janitor may be required to keep'things in order.

Other objects, advantages and features of this invention will appear from a perusal of the at-' tached drawings, the subjoined detailed description, the preamble of these specifications, and the appended claims.

.Herebelow is described one of the preferred forms of this invention in order to teach one howmto make and use the same, but it is to be uziglerstcod-v that the. drawings and description 2 thereof are not to limit the invention in any' sense whatsoever except as specifically limited by the appended claims. 7

Fig. 1 of the drawings is a plan view of a bowling alley with parts broken away, but showing the player's end and also the pin setting end,

Fig. 2 is a vertical view taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1, this view, however, omitting many of thestructural parts of the alley and showing the control system in schematic form,

. Fig. 3 is a detailed view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a View taken along line 4-4 of Fig. l,

but showing the pin and various parts in a different position,

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a portion of the device showing a closure means to fill or plug the pin opening in the alley floor,

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a special valve,

Fig. 7 is a view similar to that of Fig. 6 but showing parts of the valve in a new position.

The invention can be applied to any game device wherein pins are arranged for the purpose of being struck down by one or more objects. combination with a bowling alley I having the usual playing or ball rolling surface 2 with its side troughs 3 and 4. At the players end 5 there is a post 6 upon which is mounted a push button controlled valve 1 for the purpose of controlling the resetting of all the pins 8 at the other end of the alley indicated at 9. The usual return track [0 is shown for the balls employed,

one of which is indicated at H. The motivating force for all controls etc. of the invention is gas pressure in the form of compressed air which is stored under pressure in the tank indicated at l2; pipe means I3 is provided which leads to a suitable. pressure controlled electric motor and pump combination (not shown) for the purpose of maintaining the air pressure. Obviously other means, such as electrio and magnetic may be employed as the motivating force.

From the tank 12 extends an outlet pipe M h .air distributing block 20 which supplies the con- The invention, however, is shown as in Each pin setting unit includes a rod or guide standard 24 which is supported by the flanged element 25 that is screwed or boltedtothe floor 22; and when the pin is beneath the playing surface of the alley, the rod ispositioned withinthe pin 8 in its slide chamber was showninFig.

3 of the drawings. A stop-pin 21 is provided at the top end of the slide chamber, and if desired; a coiled spring may be provided around this pin to easeithe shock; of-the pin whenit reaches its,

concealed positions The-pinrestsaupon itsplats form or load plate 28 at aILtimeszexcept when tilted .or thrown down uponthe. alleyfloor. Whileseated upon. its,:..platfor,m, thepin main? tains'the valvepin 29d0wnwardly andthisvalve pin-opens or; closes. the small air valve 36;, the

valve; pin includes a small spring which tends tov forcatheavalve pin upwardly. at alltimes; The upper part of. this. platformhasa disc 3| that-isgsizedxto' neatly closeitheapin hole. 32 in the playing floor, the top surface of the/disc, when; imit'stopposition, beinzgxfiush. withthe top; surface: of i the playing floor; is guided along its standard by the sleeve: 33 whichvis; fixed to; the; platform and-.also to the smallvalve; 301by a suitable. bracket; Fixed to the bottom of the sleeve there is .a. bored element 34, the. lower. part. of. which. supports and provides a bearing to accommodate the pulley wheel 35; and the. upper portion. provides the extended arm; 36:.which. is .to be operatediby a. means tobe present explained.

The arm 36, just; mentioned, is raised by the plunger 3'1, whichhas the. piston 33 that ridesin the upright cylinder 39; thelbaseof, this cylinder being fixed to thetop surfaceof. the subfloor. 2.3..

Air under pressure. is supplied beneath the pistonv When the bowling:

by the air line or pipe 4%. pinB is struck andknockeddowmit does not roll away as its distance of travelis limitedby the cable, 41. This cable is flexible and one end is securedto the bolt" 42, and the otherend is; se.-,

cured to the pin 2'! within the pin 8. 7 So that the cable can ride freelyover its pulley and its pin end madeloose enough to let the pin freely fa1l"up'on the playing floor, the standard 241s provided with an open slot along one side and this slot is indicated by the numeral 43.

The opening 32, through which the bowling pin passes, is closed by a stand-in plate 44 which is of the samesize and configuration as the other plate or platform 28 "so that the'playing 'floor is notdisturbed" nor hazards created when the The: platform 4 and Si and each has its cam portion 52 so as to cause the pintle 45 to carry the plate 44 upwardly and into placed-position as shown in the upper left portion of Fig. 3. The U-frame 45 and its plate is reciprocated, when conditions require it, by the push-pull rod 53 which is attached thereto at one end thereof, the other end of this rod being provided with a piston within the cylinder 54 in a manner similar to the piston 38 and cylinder One of thea'ir pressure lines 20 from the distributor block 26 connects with one end of the cylinder 54 via the master valve 55 and is operative for opening the opening 32 when thebovrling pin 8 is about to be set upon which iszenlarged. at '8 I; to, serve ,as a cylinder? for, the piston 89.; The piston is fixed to; theyendsoi a. valverrcd, 6t, and this; rodhas ftheathree. re-

duced diameter portions 82,. 53 and; which are; recessed sufliciently to allow air to pass freely and passthrough opposed-'1 pQrts.;. For sealing purposes., thefendsef thevalve are cappedzat and 66, as shown The cap-66;,howeven:is'iprm. vided, with an; inlet pipeqfi-l which: is connected.

to the pinoperable valve-e130.

The steady air supplydine; |:8,;--,.ti 1;at is; @118; of. them, connects with the ports. 68;:ofthevalvesand? allows .air pressure to: pass around theava-lvef-rods portion Mend thiencestc, the;.portvfi9.-,zth'e;I coua, pling El and thenthroughpipefl-Brsto the-, top-of cylinder 39,, and the. airpressurealsoipassesmr continues through pipeJil-zandthrough valve 12 to make ccnnectionrwith, pipe55 thatsle'ads toone end of the cylinder lmz,v Thesteadytair pressure pipe I 8 also, leads to, theporta 1310f thevalve and around its opening, B.31.to the;ports 1:4'iandl 5, the port l4havingconnecti'on with the pipesa'l fi,

4B and l8;v the. pipewlfimakes: connection with one side, of, the; pinioperated valve .3 dpthezpip'eaaifl makes connection with the; bottom; of .Ithe'vcylinder 39; and the; pipe; 18: make's.- connection with the. left side ofrcylinder'54s The.port .15 is connected with. the. pipeal'il andirhence .toi the pipe- 6! leadinginto the chamber '8.-'l .of. the .mainvalve" The and ,to the left of. the piston. -iiilzthereofi. push; button controlled. airfrom the blockil-iil enters the port; 82 and thenceiinto thev chamber" 8| tothe rightof the pistonflil; The =-p0rt i 83 is for. exhausting: the cylinder .81 on th'e: right side of the piston. An exhaust port M ils-provided for the port14 and another:exhaust' porta 85 is provided for theport 69, asshown;

Operation..Each-..one1 of the bowling pins is provided with theunit: just explained. The-only elements, common to all units are the distribut ing blocks l1 and 20,:thepush button vaive'T and the air pressure tank: 12.. Obviously; any suitable means may be; provided for keeping a constant air pressurev in the tank 02, for in-- stance, a motor-compressor setcontrolled by a.

pressure regulator that is associated with the tank.

When, the bowling pin 8iis inxits upright position vuponthe alley-'fioor, as .shownrin .Fig; 2 of the drawings, the main contnolvalve {xii -bas lts piston and valve rod 6| intheposition-shown in Fig; '7. In. this valve position, airJpressure is available to the pinv valve 30 and air pressure iS holdingthe pistonin cylinder. 54 so as tokeep a hand end of the chamber 8|.

When the valve 39 is opened, the main valve 56 has itsvalve rod, 81 shifted tothe new, position as shown in Fig. 6. In this position, the bottom of cylinder39 is vented through port 84 and the plate 28 drops and the cable 4| pulls the pin 8 onto its plate and they fall together, air pressure at the top of cylinder 39 via port 68 and pipe 10 forcing the rod 31 downwardly. When the plate 28 reaches its downwardmost position, the arm 36 strikes the pin of valve 12 and closes its vent but opens the passage therethrough so as to provide air pressure to the right side of the piston in cylinder 54 and thus force the plate 44 to close the floor opening 32 left by removal of the pin plate or platform 28. Obviously, the left side of the cylinder 54 is vented through the main valve port 84.

When the player desires to reset all the pins that may be down, he merely presses the button of valve 1 and this-action causes air pressure to enter the chamber 8| at the right side of piston 80 so as to return the valve rod 81 to its original position as shown in Fig. 7. The left side of the piston 80 having been vented through the main valve port 84 via pipe 19 just before the left shift of the rod 81 was made, the pin 8 is thus caused to be returned to its floor position. Note, however, that the right side of the piston in cylinder 54 is vented through the valve 12 in that the pin thereof is raised and the valve closed to pressure air when the platform arm 36 is raised. Note, also, that a slow action element 89 is included in pipe 40 so that the cylinder 54 works a little earlier than the piston in cylinder 39 in order to avoid interference by the closure plate 44 when the pin is raised to floor position.

It is, of course, understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of form, style, design, and construction of the whole or any part of the specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof insofar as such changes and modifications are within the scope of the following claims:

I claim:

1. An automatic pin setting device for bowling alleys comprising an alley surface having the usual plurality of bowling pin spots opposite a players end thereof; each spot consisting of a hole with a load plate therein, each load plate being sized to neatly fit into its respective hole without binding, a bowling pin normally upright on each load plate, a hole in each load plate, fluid controlled reciprocable means which moves vertically and which is attached to each plate for vertical movement, means in the reciprocable means to accommodate a cable, said cable being attached to its respective bowling pin and passing through the hole in its respective plate and along its respective reciprocable means and having its other end fixed to a portion of the device. a pulley attached to each reciprocable means and which is adapted to engage its respective cable and return its respective bowling pin to its upright position, a valve underand' fixed to eachload plate which has a valve pin that passes through a hole in its respective plate, said valve pin being urged continually upwardly through the plate by spring means,'but which pin is held down by the weight of its respective bowling pin; and a stand-in plate for each hole in the floor which is sizedto neatly close its respectivehole and which stand-in plate is supported by horizontally reciprocable mechanism which includes guide means for directing its respective stand-in plate to and from position; a low positioned valve spaced beneath each load plate .and which valve has an operative pin adapted to be actuated when the load plate is in its lowermost position, the said fluid controlled means lowering the load plate when the valve pin thereof is released and causing the stand-in plate to close the hole, and means including the low positioned valve to cause the stand-in plate to be removed from its respective hole and the load plate to rise with its respective bowling pin to a play position.

2. In an automatic pin setting device for bowling alleys and the like; a playing floor having a surface at one end thereof with bowling pin spots, a bowling pin on each spot, each spot constituting a hole through the floor which is sized to freely pass its' respective bowling pin, each hole having a removable load plate to close it and which load plate is supported by a vertically reciprocable mechanism, a valve fixed to the underside of the load plate and having a reciprocable pin therein for opening and closing the valve, this pin passing through the load plate and being held down by the weight of the bowling pin, a cable attached to each bowling pin, the cable of each bowling pin passing through a bore in its respective load plate and having its other end fixed to a portion of the device, pulley means fixed to each reciprocable mechanism for engaging its respective cable and operative to return its respective bowling pin to its loading plate when the loading plate is lowered, a standin plate for each hole sized to close same when the load plate is removed, means for guiding and moving each stand-in plate, a low position valve spaced below each load plate and which is operated by its respective load plate when contacted, pressure means for operating the said reciprocable mechanism for raising the load plates, pressure means including a manually controlled master valve for lowering all the load plates together and forcing all displaced bowling pins to their proper upright position upon their respective load plates through action of the cables and for removing all stand-in plates from their respective holes as the load plates are returned to their normal position for playing purposes.

3. An automatic device for removing a bowling pin when forced from an upright playing position and for returning the pin to its upright playing position upon operation of a hand controlled fluid pressure means; the device including a floor with a hole therein of sufiicient size to allow a bowling pin to pass therethrough, a surface plate neatly positioned in the hole with its top surface flush with the top surface of the floor, a rod means fixed to the undersurface of the surface plate and extending downwardly, a fluid cylinder having a reciprocable piston therein and the piston fixed to the bottom end of the rod means, a pin valve fixed to the surface plate having an operating pin therefor which extends upwardly through the surface plate and which amsagow pin is adapted "to beheldi downwardly bythe weightiofthebowling-pin seas to keep-rthe pin; valve releasabl'y closed; .mea'ns "supplying pressurze fluid toone .side offithe pin valve andimeans connected" toutha-other ,iside" offthep pin valve. to. release the piston inkthewylinder when 11311115 pin M valve-:iswpemed so asrtu p'ermit..the :surface plate, toi'all to ;a,; set st0p position, ;.bowling.;;pm return"- cable. meanscunnected with: the: roimeans; for ramming thewbowli'ng pin: to; themsurfa'ce plate;- in anauprightxplayinga position when: displaced; v valveimeans having connection with the;cy1indenv andipressure:means;formaisingfihevpiston in the,

cylinder and the bowling pin: to. raisedzpositian andfor keeping it there untilarelase'zofrthe pin of the 'pin valve;

GEORGE CHARLES 'DEBAY,

References. Cited in the file of this: patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hinzv: -Aug. 20,1940 

